Several new Pittsburgh-developed apps are out, connecting local sportfans, assisting with the household budget and bringing up-to-the-minute reports on the security line and shuttles at the Pittsburgh airport.
Cheer with fellow fans for any Pittsburgh team with
Steel City Buzz, an app that works like Twitter but is Pittsburgh sports all the time. Co-founders Bill Hinchley (billwhiteshoes) and Rob Phillips (yinzandyang), buddies who go back to first grade in Elizabeth Township, love social media but found most platforms weren’t capturing the thrill when it came to game time.
We decided to build something for ourselves and make it a more personal experience, says Hinchley. Steel City Buzz is way more than Twitter for Yinzers. It’s also gathering a national following (although they won’t disclose figures).
“It’s a virtual stadium where you get to pick whom you sit with, 12 times faster than Facebook and Twitter (it refreshes every three seconds),” he says. “It gives people out of town a way to connect and feel a part of Steeler nation.”
Want up-to-the-minute news on how long the security line is running, or where to find parking, at the Pittsburgh International Airport?
FlyPittsburgh.mobi is a tool (not quite an app) that puts flight and line information at your fingertips.
It’s also a portal for any flight coming in and out of Pittsburgh. It can also tell you when the next parking shuttle is coming whatever parking lot you may be standing in and what the weather looks like over the airport. Most of the information is fed to the site by FlyPittsburgh and Flight Tracker, says Dave Paga of Grant Oliver, the private company that manages the parking lot.
Budget Simple is a cool new tool that helps users to manage the household budget, from mortgage to monthly bills. Developed by Phil Anderson, formerly of AlphaLab company Levlr, the site has more than 75,000 users so far.
“We are building a automated personal financial advisor,” Anderson explains. “It’s going beyond simple income and expenses and helping you to understand how you can best spend your money, whether debt or savings and investing.
South Side-based
Jibbigo has announced the launch of a new translation app, which combines all the features and languages offered in its stand alone apps, in one handy app. Unlike other translation apps, it works on your mobile without an internet connection.
This new version is free, adds 20+ languages for unlimited online use and allows you to keep all of your offline translators in the same app. Users can download them for offline use and as an in-app purchase instead of buying a whole new app.
Writer: Deb Smit
Source: Steel City Buzz, Dave Paga, Phil Anderson and Jibbigo